Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Yang Che set off at 9:30 a.m. and arrived at Jialin Garden residential area at 2:30 p.m. He entered smoothly, and the security guard even saluted him...

Just as he parked the car, his phone rang. Yang Che was startled when he saw the caller ID.

"Hey, Yuanyuan."

"Honey, what are you doing?"

Yang Che tentatively said, "Just driving over to visit someone's place."

I miss you. When are you coming to Beijing?

Yang Che felt relieved: "Around the tenth of the month."

"So early? You should spend more time with your aunt and uncle; you've been out for so long..."

After a few casual words, the call ended.

Just in case, Yang Che called Xiao Pang again.

"Hey bro, I was just about to call you."

Hearing her playful voice, Yang Che couldn't help but laugh: "You seem so happy, what happened?"

Unexpectedly, Fan Bingbing immediately started grumbling, "What's so exciting? 'Justice Bao' needs reshoots, when are you coming back to Beijing?"

"Alright, this is normal. When are you leaving?"

"The 2th, the 13th, ahhh! I'm going to start filming 'Married to the Wrong Man' at the end of February, followed by CCTV's 'Qin Shi Huang' and 'Clever Little Master,' and then Stephen Chow's 'Shaolin Soccer'..."

Hearing the increasingly frantic voice of the little fat boy, Yang Che quickly interrupted, "Wait, didn't I tell you to turn down 'Qin Shi Huang'? What the heck is 'Clever Little Master'? Also, weren't you supposed to be on the Lantern Festival Gala?"

Little Fatty's voice weakened: "Isn't that a historical drama on CCTV? Sister Hua also suggested I act in it. There's also 'Clever Little Master,' which is from Zhao Baogang's company. I'll come back for the Lantern Festival Gala."

"Fine... I'll try to return to the capital on the sixth or seventh day of the month."

"Really!"

"Seriously, I want to slap your ass right now. You've given yourself away for the whole year."

"Who told you not to write me a script?"

"..."

After a few more words, the call ended.

Thinking of the busy little fat boy, Yang Che felt no shame, but rather discomfort.

But I also know that she enjoys it.

Then, carrying her bag, she got off the bus and rang the doorbell.

After a long silence, a bad feeling crept in. Had this woman gone out to play? Impossible, she was even more of a homebody than Gao Yuanyuan.

"Beep beep beep..."

Yang Che reached out and entered the door using the keypad. Well, no one was home.

I put down my backpack and dialed her number. It rang several times before she answered.

Yang Che asked lazily, "Where is it, Teacher Wang?"

"You've arrived?"

"I'm lying on your sofa right now."

"You can play by yourself for a while. I'm going home tonight. Bye."

He was killed without warning, without any warning whatsoever.

Yang Che inexplicably thought of a day in December when he was sixteen years old. It snowed heavily that night. He remembered that the girl liked snowmen, and he couldn't sleep. While his parents were asleep, he secretly slipped out of the house.

In the heavy snow, he rode a bicycle, his heart as warm as the white breath he exhaled.

He built a snowman with his bare hands downstairs at her house. Halfway through, he took off his gloves because they were in the way. Thinking of how happy she would be when she saw the snowman, he didn't feel cold anymore.

When he straightened up to rest after piling up half of the pile, he saw that the girl had actually appeared in front of the building entrance.

He froze before he could even laugh. It turned out she had just returned home late at night when she appeared in front of the building, and a notorious thug from outside the school was patting her butt with her, while she looked shy and bashful.

Yang Che heard the thug say, "Building a snowman in the middle of the night, what an idiot."

The girl said, "Yes, I went up."

"....."

Yang Che didn't hear what was said after that. He kicked the half-built snowman and left with his head down.

He really wanted to fight the thugs, but he didn't have the courage.

He didn't remember how he got home, only that his hands, feet, and face were extremely cold, bone-chillingly cold.

Just like now, Yang Che felt a little uncomfortable.

He knew that Wang Fei always spoke like that on the phone, and he knew it was because he hadn't given him a heads-up, but he still felt uncomfortable.

My body felt as if it were being gradually eroded by the ice and snow of my memories, growing colder and colder.

So Yang Che quickly sat up and left. He drove aimlessly on the road, but even though he was aimless, he turned from the North Second Ring Road to the West Second Ring Road and headed towards No. 8 Courtyard.

As Yang Che passed by Yuetan North Street, he suddenly turned the steering wheel and drove in.

During the Chinese New Year period, there are very few cars on the road, otherwise there would definitely be a car accident.

As we drove, we came to the front of a bank.

When I got off the bus, I saw several teenagers playing with firecrackers that had been partially melted and blackened in the snow, which they had piled up by the roadside.

Each time a loud bang was heard, it was followed by a series of giggles, screams of surprise as people bumped into trees while dodging, and the sound of dry branches colliding.

This made Yang Che feel much better.

He smiled, went into the bank, and withdrew 49,000 yuan in cash.

Then we got back in the car and continued driving, entering Yuetan West Street and stopping at the east gate of the Third Railway Community.

Then he took out his phone and dialed Zhu Ling's number.

The other party answered after two rings.

"Sister Ling, Happy Chinese New Year!"

"Hello, Xiao Yang."

His voice remained magnetic and kind.

Are you home now?

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Okay, I just happen to be passing by your neighborhood. I'll give you my share of the movie profits, just like we agreed before the New Year."

"Huh? Oh, well... wait a minute."

"Okay, I'm at the East Gate. Remember to grab your bag or something. Actually, I'll just deliver it to your house. Which building and unit?"

Zhu Ling paused for a moment before giving her home address.

She was angry and flustered after that phone call before the New Year.

However, when she visited a friend yesterday and learned from him that "My Sassy Girl" would be giving the main creators a share of the profits, she thought about it again and realized that it seemed like she had been overthinking things all along.

After all, the most widely circulated part of "Gaotang Fu" is the story of the clouds and rain over Wushan. It is already quite remarkable that Yang Che, at his age, can recite it.

How could I blame him?

When she got home and was alone, she couldn't help but wonder why her emotions had been so volatile.

Perhaps it was because he once said that he admired her when he was young.

........

Yang Che beeped twice as he drove, and the security guard glanced at him before raising the barrier.

Look, these days, driving a Grand Cherokee can make you a good person.

Unit 2, 2nd floor, Building 24.

This building only has three floors and looks quite old.

I went into the building, knocked on the door, and it opened.

Zhu Ling still sports short hair, a gray wool sweater, and black wide-leg pants, looking quite casual.

Yang Che smiled nonchalantly: "Sister Ling is still as charming as ever, congratulations!"

"Thank you for your kind words, please come in."

After entering the room, Zhu Ling took out a pair of men's slippers from the shoe cabinet.

After thanking him, Yang Che looked around. The decor was simple and Soviet-style, with the sofa covers being those old-fashioned white gauze curtains.

The balcony has orchids and roses, their leaves a dark green, clearly indicating they are well cared for.

Many calligraphy works and landscape photos are hung on the wall.

"Did you write this yourself, Sister Ling?"

Zhu Ling was very generous: "Yes, I just wrote it for fun. If I think it looks good, I'll frame it myself, haha. Please sit down and have some fruit. I only have jasmine tea here, so please don't mind."

"How could that be?"